Becoming Death
by Germantownmaiden
Summary: Anzu has been living in a bitter ever since Atem left. She let's the days pass by but one day, while walking home from school, she dies. She thinks she can rest in peace, but Death has other plans, he wants Anzu to be the new Death and he won't take 'no'
1. Mad World

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NEW STORY! Yay! Alrighty, I know its been a long time, super sorry about that. Alright, to tell you about my story now!

_Anzu Mazaki has been trapped in her own world of darkness and bitterness since Atem has left. She figured she would live a long, bitter life. But she was wrong. Walking home from school she saves a child from being hit by on-coming traffic. Her death is slow, but fast at the same time. Hoping to be at peace let's the bliss of being at peace sink into her mind. But Death has different plans._

_Death wants Anzu to be the new Death, and he won't take 'no' for an answer._

_Now she must take up the sythe and the wings that seem to be stuck inbetween an angel's and a demon's wings and take the souls of the living. After five years she returns, changed forever. Her friends feel a stiring in the air, someone is messing with soul count. Anzu's being affected by it and so is the Afterlife. With a little digging, the Afterlife finds out that Zorc has a son, and he just happens to be Anzu's apprentice._

Disclaimer!: I don't own Yugioh, nor do I own Gary Jules, Mad World.

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Becoming Death

Chapter 1

Anzu Mazaki looked out her window, watching the rain as it fell in a steady beat. Pressing her forehead against the cold bitter glass, she thought about _him,_ again. She would probably never be free of his hold on her.

She gave him her heart and now she would never get it back. Some days she thought he hadn't given her anything, other days she hoped he had given his heart to her and that he felt the same way. But she knew, deep down that she wasn't enough for him, she was some nobody from the future while he was of royalty and had noble blood running through his veins.

Anzu squeezed her eyes shut and gritted her teeth together as a fresh wave of pain flooded over her. Her long sharp nails ranked down the window, leaving small scratches behind.

Turning around to do something other than scratch the window she turned on the radio. A voice announced a song and a moment later the soft sound of a piano could be heard. She recognized the song immediately, though she didn't know why.

It was Gary Jules Mad World.

_All around me are familiar faces, _

_Worn out places, worn out faces_

_Bright and early for their daily races_

_Going nowhere, going nowhere . . ._

_Their tears are filling up their glasses_

_No expression, no expression_

_Hide my head I wanna drown my sorrow_

_No tomorrow, no tomorrow_

Anzu wondered how simple words could not describe one's mood but when you found the right song with the right words, it described you, perfectly.

_And I find it kind of funny, I find it kind of sad_

_The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had_

_I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take_

_When people run in circles it's a very, very _

_Mad world, mad world._

_Children waiting for the day they feel good_

_Happy birthday, happy birthday_

_And I feel the way that every child should_

_Sit and listen, sit and listen_

_Went to school and I was nervous_

_No one knew me, no one knew me_

_Hello teacher, tell what's my lesson?_

_Look right through me, Look right through me_

_And I find it kind of funny, I find it kind of sad_

_The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had_

_I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take_

_When people run in circles it's a very, very _

_Mad world, mad world, enlarge your world_

_Mad World._

The song ended leaving behind a sad air. Anzu sighed and sank into the pillow on her bed letting sleep claim her, taking her into a mad world . . . _her_ mad world.

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She woke up to the bright light of the sun. School. Anzu groaned and slammed her hand into her pillow. Anything but school. Her alarm went off at that moment and let off a happy chime that seemed to mock her.

Getting up so she could get ready she turned off the alarm and went into her closet to get out the school uniform. Letting her thoughts claim her again, Anzu wondered why she had been almost late those days in the past. It seemed a bit stupid.

"Anzu, are you up?" her mother called.

"Yes." She replied opening her door and closing it. Walking down she was met with the smell of her Mother's cooking.

"Hungry?"

"No, I'm not, but could you save me some when I get home?"

"Of course honey." Her mother smiled and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Now, off to school."

"Bye Mom!"

"Bye-bye!" she called as Anzu closed the front door. Spring and graduation was around the corner, she could feel it in the air as she walked.

Suddenly she felt someone run into her from behind. "Anzu!" She sighed and shook her head. She knew that voice.

"Hey Yugi. You're unusually early. Something happen last night?"

"No, I just felt like getting to school on time." He laughed. Yugi had grown plenty since Atem left. His eyes had lost a little bit of their innocent look, but he was still the same boy on the inside. "Are you going to wait for Joey and Tristan?"

"When I could be late? No, besides, they usually get there before me. So what's the point." She said coldly. Yugi flinched at her cold tone and looked at her warily. Anzu had been doing more of that lately too; her comments seemed to be sharper, crueler and hurtful.

The bitterness was making it worse and now her soul seemed to be made of it. Nothing was left, nothing. Dancing wasn't even fun anymore, her dream had been buried in pain and bitterness.

Yugi was in a talkative mood that day and he wanted to see Anzu smile, even if it only lasted a second. He said all the jokes he could think of, some made her smile, but it wasn't genuine.

When they got to school it turned out the Anzu was right about Joey and Tristan being there already. They greeted them as they came into the classroom. "Finally! I thought you guys were never gonna get here." Joey laughed.

Yugi smiled and went into a conversation about a duel tournament that was coming up. They had been dueling a lot more lately. Anzu wondered if it was their way to counter the grief of Atem leaving . . .

The teacher came in then so attention was shifted to him. Anzu let his words flow into her and out. She already knew this stuff. Anzu closed her eyes and slipped into her dark world of emotions. The teacher wouldn't notice, she was sitting in the back anyway.

The day went by sluggishly. At lunch Anzu sat in the classroom eating her sandwich when she noticed something dark in the corner of her eye. Turning where she saw the dark shape she saw nothing.

She went to the window and looked out it, confusion rolling off her. What had she seen? From her window she looked out over the school, looking for some dark figure.

Anzu gave up when she couldn't find anything that resembled the dark figure she had seen so she turned away to her desk and continued to eat.

As the day passed on Anzu got the feeling that she was being followed. She kept feeling as if someone had touched her on the shoulder or someone breathing on her neck.

When the day finally ended she practically ran out of the school, fearing that she was being stalked.

"Hey Anzu! Wait up!" someone called out. Turning around she spotted Joey, Tristan, and Yugi running after her. They came up next to her, gasping for air a little bit. "What's the rush?"

"I . . . I just wanted to get home." She replied. She rather not speak her suspicions out knowing what they would do. Joey would go around campus glaring at everyone and pick a fight with every guy that looked her way. Yugi and Tristan would be right behind him.

As they walked together Anzu felt it _again_! She had to stop the urge to look behind her. Even when she was with her friends she felt like this. If she wasn't with them right now she probably would have growled like an animal.

When they reached a crosswalk and waited to cross Anzu closed her eyes and tried to make the noise disappear. A man was screaming on his phone, some girls were babbling non-stop and . . . a bouncing sound?

She opened her eyes to see a bright red ball bouncing into the heavy traffic. Then a child shot in to the traffic.

You would have thought that time slowed, like in the movies, but no. It seemed to speed up. All she could remember was pushing the child out of the street; pain flooded her mind and before the darkness descended upon her she heard Yugi begging her to wake up, for her to hold on.

"Anzu! Please, hold . . . Anzu! Listen . . . me!" He was yelling, his voice wavering.

"Anzu . . . don't die!" he begged before black and purple shadows curled around her, pulling her somewhere. Then, the darkness descended.

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Alright! What do you guys think? Does it sound good? I hope so!

Alright, if you guys like this then I'm happy! But this will be a DARK story, love and yummy romance will be put into it, but still dark. Now I'll put some humor it this but not much. Now, to get to the point, Sara Darkotter will be doing a humorous version of the 'Death' story. It won't be anything like mine. Plot very different. So, if you like humor and you like this, keep a look-out for Sara Darkotter's version.


	2. Becoming Death

Hello hello! Here once again with a second chapter of Becoming Death. This is where her full trasformation takes place! Hope you like it and if you have _any_ questions that you would like me to ask, feel free to leave a review.

Now, before I end this, I want 10 total reviews for this of no update, 9 or 8 will do too. But if there are people who are reading this and they just don't to leave a review then for shame! (And peeps who don't have an account here, you can leave reviews for me too. I would love your words and if somethings bothering you that you want me to change then just mention it!)

Disclaimer! I own nothing!

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Becoming Death

Chapter 2

Anzu woke up surrounded by darkness. So this is what death was like, just nothing. She tried to get up but a wave of pain flooded through her, stopping her. Looking over herself she saw the blood and the wounds from the car that hit her.

Why was she still like this? Wasn't death supposed to be free of this stuff? Pain, bitterness, hate . . . weren't these emotions supposed to disappear as if they never existed?

_Anzu . . ._

She looked around, someone had called her name. Just barely above a whisper, but someone was calling out to her.

_Anzu . . . over here, Anzu . . ._

The voice faded away again. Slowly, she got up. Her body screamed bloody murder, but despite the pain she got up and followed the voice.

_Just a little closer Anzu, you're almost there . . ._

"Who's there? Show yourself!" she yelled out into the darkness. Gritted her teeth together, trying to get past the pain she walked on. The shadows around her parted, creating a small path. She walked along it, after a few minutes she came to a clearing of black space, of nothing. The shadows curled around her like fire, reaching out to her.

A lone figure stood at the other end, a figure she knew!

"You! I saw you at school!" she said, pointing an accusing finger at the large, dark figure.

_"Yes, that was I."_

Anzu narrowed her eyes, his accent sounded old, not to mention he talked like those who lived in the old age. "Who are you?" she hissed.

_"Who do I look like child?"_ the dark figure snapped, showing a scythe. Anzu was tempted to say something smart like, 'Oh, so you're a dead farmer?' but she knew who this figure was, and what he could do to her.

"Death." She hissed.

_"Correct, Anzu Mazaki."_

"Shouldn't I be running in a field of flowers right now? Not a care in the world?"

_"That is not what Death does."_

"What are you-" but she stopped. She started to feel a sinking feeling in her stomach. "No."

_"Yes, you will be the next Death, Anzu. Nothing you say or do will change my decision."_

"No! I don't want to be, you can't make me!" she snarled. Anzu turned around and ran as fast as her legs would take her. Pain flared, but it was lost in the adrenalin rush. The shadows parted for her, not bothering to fight her.

_"No! Stop her!"_ Death snarled. His voice seemed to be coming from everywhere.

The shadows curled around her, but not hurting her, and lifted her up off the ground, stopping her from running. Death appeared before her, she could feel the triumph rolling off him.

_"Nice try, but in the end, you are Death."_ And with that, he touched his scythe to her forehead.

Anzu's breath hitched in her throat as a pain flashed through her body, but this pain . . . was beyond pain. She couldn't scream, but she wanted to. It was filling her up, from her finger tips to her toes. She could feel every muscle screaming, even her hair hurt! Was that possible? For hair to _hurt_?

Then, like a slow beating drum, she felt the pain pulse, as if it had a life of its own. That's when she screamed. Her skin and back seemed to be on fire. She sounded like an animal howling in the eternal night that she was surrounded in.

She looked down at the ground and gave a chocked cry of fear. The ground looked like ink. Like a black sea . . .

Suddenly the ink rose up and connected to her skin. It felt as if she was getting shots, all over her. The pain was gone now, except for the pain in her back, her skin felt fine. Looking down, she nearly screamed again, and this time, in fear.

She was covered in tattoos. Anzu could see people dying in them, fear, pain, illness . . . everything that was connected to Death, was in the tattoos. But she could not ignore the beauty in them too. They started at her eyes, looking like black tears. They curled in impossibility beautiful designs that no man could make. They were on her arms, legs, and no doubt, they were on her torso too.

A ripping sound brought her out of her concentration on the tattoos. It wasn't a normal ripping sound . . . it was the sound of _skin_ ripping. Pain exploded in her and she heard a whooshing sound. Looking over her shoulders she saw wings.

They looked like a demon's wings with blackish-gray feathers coated with her blood. They looked caught between an angel's wings and a demon's wings.

The shadows called to her, whispering her name. She turned to them to see a mini twister in front of her. It disappeared, leaving behind a scythe . . . _her _scythe. It was jagged and beautiful; the blade had a hint of blue. The handle seemed to be a mirror image of her tattoos, beautiful and yet horrifying. Three skulls hung off it, like chime bells, only these chimed of deaths, not the morning wind.

The original Death stared at the new scythe in shock. With the memories that he had once had of the past Deaths, he had never seen such a scythe before. He took a step back and turned to leave, but he was too late.

The dark shadows curled around him like a twister, picking him up and flinging him to the ground, holding him there. "So, you really thought that I was going to let you go? After what you did to me? Keep dreaming spirit!" she laughed.

The spirit shivered in fear, maybe he should have gotten her at a different time and not now when she was filled with such hate. Of course, having second thoughts now was a bit too late.

"Tell me, before I kill you. Why me, hmm?"

"Th-the blood choose you because of your ability! I had someone else in mind but I cannot go against the blood of Death!" he whispered. Anzu's eyes narrowed dangerously as she walked up to him.

"You had someone different in mind? Now that I have the memories I know that you can override the Blood's choice, so why did you pick me?" she snarled.

"Because the one that I had in mind would not hold up the line of Death as you will! They would not have an ability to kill Gods and Goddesses!"

The air seemed to freeze as he finished. He looked back to see that her eyes now looked like ice. "Are you telling me," she hissed. "That I was chosen over _that_ ability _alone_?" she shrieked.

"No! That's not what I-" but that's was all he got to say before a black bolt of lightning hit him, dissolving him into a fine dust. Anzu stared at the dust before a small giggle escaped her lips. That small giggle turned into a mad laugh.

"So, the line wants me to be Death, huh," she giggled. "Then so be it!" Her laughter echoed through the darkness as it mirrored her emotions.

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Just to let you know, she doesn't go insane, she's just _**really**_ mad. hees hees!

I hope you liked it and please leave a review! See ya soon!


	3. Five years later

Hey Guys! It's been a while, I know. Lack of internet sucks. :P

So, I hope everyones doing well, now, as you can tell, it's five years later. Atem's part comes in at the end. So without further a-do, I present the 3 chapter of Becoming Death! Please enjoy!

Disclaimer! I own nothing!

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Becoming Death

Chapter 3

_Five years later . . ._

Anzu opened her eyes to the dark gray world that she now lived in. It was like an old town that you would see in the movies about the Medieval Times, except, there was no color, just gray.

Spirits of all kinds floated around, playing games, talking, and doing other ghostly things. She created this world out of her own will. The spirits that came here were those that weren't accepted into their 'heaven' or afterlife. Souls that were never given bodies, most of them were abortions.

She may have been Death but to see them, not even given a chance at life, sickened her. She still had a heart. When they would come here she would go look for couples who wanted children, and those who had been trying for a long time.

Over the year she watched her friends change, Yugi his growth spurt in and was now almost the same height as Joey and Tristan. Unlike her, they got happy endings.

Joey had finally let off of his over-protective nature over Serenity and let her live her life, which let him concentrate on Mai. Tristan won over Duke, and Yugi had Rebecca. Anzu had given them all souls of forgotten children. That's what her people called aborted children. The name was a little bit better then 'The Aborted Souls'.

Anzu was about to close her eyes again, to sleep, but she was disturbed by a presence. Growling, her eyes snapped open and the shadows that clung to her like a cape turned into a deadly whip.

"Master . . ." a voice that she knew whispered out to her. The whip disappeared and her anger fell away. It was her apprentice.

"Dark, why is it that you bother me?"

"The shadows are practically a window to your emotions Master, are you restless?" A young man stepped forward from the shadows.

He had black hair and bright red eyes that screamed demon. He was about the same height as Yugi before his growth spurt, but that didn't make Dark weak. He was nicely built and had a face to die for. Humans would probably bow to his feet, the females mostly. First appearance said he wouldn't hurt a fly, but she knew better, she knew who he was.

The son of Zorc. It surprised her, she figured that he didn't care for humans like that, but when he became her apprentice he told her that his mother was no human, but a demon. Cleared up some things, but not all. She still wondered why he went against his father to do something different.

"I am restless, but it will pass." She sighed.

"Master . . . why don't you . . . take a break?"

She turned to him, surprise in her eyes that changed to humor. "Death, take a break? Dark, sometimes I wonder about you, and worry." She giggled. Getting up from her throne she walked toward him. "Go watch over the Spirit Watchers and make sure they're not slacking off on the job for me Dark. I need to be alone."

"But you're always alone." He whispered and walked away to carry out what she asked of him. Anzu watched him go with a sad smile. Sometimes she wondered where in the world he got his kindness from.

She snapped her fingers causing the shadows around her to swirl around her. "Take me to my room." The slow swirl became rapid and then they fell away to reveal a room. Only, it wasn't a normal room.

She took up Atem's old version of his soul room. Only, the doors ended but there were many of them. But, unlike Atem, who didn't have any memories, she had too many. That's what the rooms were for, to seal her memories away.

Anzu opened one of the doors to a large bed and bathroom. Walking in, she flopped down on the soft bedding. Her shadows curled up on the bedposts, waiting for her command, but when she didn't give one they sank to the floor, covering it like a dark mist.

Closing her eyes, she went into the memories of all the past Deaths. Yesterday she went through the whole Holocaust; the screaming that would have haunted her didn't bother her at all. Guess being Death you didn't have nightmares.

She was just about finished with the memory when her door banged open. The shadows jumped and swirled but sank to the floors once again. Dark.

Anzu's eyes fluttered open. Turning her head so she could look at him. "What now?"

"Master, something's wrong." His tone wasn't right; it wasn't soft, care-free. Sitting up she turned to him, eyes now alert.

"What is it?" she was getting up. Dark hesitated before speaking.

"The Spirit Watchers reported a disturbance in the spirit-in-come."

"Where?"

"Domino City, your old home. The humans that died don't have any spirit left. They say it as if someone got to them before they did."

"Did they tell you how long it's been going on?" she asked.

"For about two weeks. At first they thought a Life Angel was in the city, but you know them, they move after a while. So when it continued the week after they reported it."

Anzu turned around and started to pace. If the soul count was disrupted, even by two weeks or more, she would loose power, and she couldn't have that. If it started up in one city then it could spread to another, and then another.

Gritting her teeth she turned to Dark. "Tell me Dark, have you ever been on Earth before?"

"Once, but I never got to explore like I wanted to." He said.

"Well, looks like you get to see Domino City, and knowing my friends, Yugi especially, they will notice a disturbance in the air."

"How?" Dark asked.

"When souls are not taken to Death, the air over-loads with magic, and Yugi knows what magic feels like. If it continues, the Duel Monsters portal actually has the potential to open, and worst of all, if it spreads over to two cities, there might be just enough to break the seal that Atem put on your father."

Dark's jaw dropped open and his eyes looked like they were gonna pop out. Anzu had to hold back a giggle. He looked like a fish. Dark closed his jaw and his eyes went back to normal.

"So, do you think that someone wants Zorc out?"

"I have no doubt about it, and since it has something to do with souls, the Afterlife will be affected as well."

"Meaning . . . ?"

"Meaning they might send Atem and a few others to see what's going on, and last thing we need is for them to accuse you of taking the souls and messing up the balance."

Dark pressed his lips into a thin line. "You know you really don't need me, you're only five years old with the Death job, Master."

Anzu turned to him for a moment before getting on her knees and gripping his shoulders. "Look at me Dark."

Slowly, he looked up.

"When I first became Death, insanity just about had me, when you came to me two years ago, if you had come any later, my mind would have shattered and insanity would have taken me. You were the one that saved me, you gave me something to care about, Dark. I see you as my son more then my apprentice." She said softly. _"You are wanted."_

The darkness that surrounded Dark fell away and a slow, happy smile replaced it. "Forth time you gave me that speech. Guess I need to glue it in my head somewhere." He laughed.

Anzu laughed softly and kissed him tenderly on the forehead. "Now," she said getting back on her feet and grabbed her scythe. "Let's go to Domino City. Looks like we're going to be there for some time."

* * *

_The Afterlife . . ._

Atem stretched out on the soft green grass as the sun warmed him. The Afterlife was almost everything he had dreamed about. He had his family, priests, and friends with him.

A dull ach in his heart reminded him of what he left behind in the modern world though. His friends. Joey, Yugi, Tristan, Bakura, Kaiba even, and Anzu . . . Ra he was stupid. He should have said something to her, he knew she had a crush on him and he didn't say anything to her.

The boys would be fine, they were tough, but Anzu . . . she had her own toughness but she had practically put her heart on a gold platter and gave it to him, and he said _nothing_ to her.

Getting up from the grass he brushed himself off and headed back to the palace. One day he would go back and tell her that he was sorry, but right now, things that he had to deal with here called.

Suddenly something, or someone, slammed into him sending him flying backwards.

"There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you!" Mana said."

He groaned and opened one eye to look at her. "First, get off me; second, explain why you were looking for me."

She nodded and bounced off him, allowing him to get up. Making sure he was in one piece he tested everything to make sure nothing was broken. Hey, even in the Afterlife you could break some bones.

"Alright, now explain everything to me, _slowly._"

"Boss needs us!"

"Is that it?"

"When he calls a meeting isn't it _always_ important?"

His brows shoot up. "So, you don't remember the-"

"Okay, I'll admit that the last meeting he called was a bit-"

"A bit?"

"Okay, it was _really _ridiculous being it was about . . . what was it about?"

Atem rolled his eyes. "It was something about an official Afterlife t-shirt! Of course, not that I wouldn't mind, but the fact that the shirt said, 'Team Afterlife' killed it." He muttered.

"But this time he sounded tense about something, and you know him, he's barely ever tense."

He turned to her, surprised. "He was tense?"

She nodded. "Yeah, even angry maybe, but, I could have been hearing things, so how about we go see what's up."

He sighed and followed her. Their 'boss', as they called him, was actually the god in charge of the Afterlife. Ra used to be in charge but he took a break from it all and Jason, as he liked to be called, was jumping for the job.

Jason brought wanted and unwanted changes to the Afterlife, mostly wanted. He was good at what he did but . . . he did have his moments though.

Walking into the meeting hall he was his priests and almost his entire family. His father waved him over to an empty seat beside him. Thank Ra for that, the hall was packed!

Mana skipped over to Mahado who had saved a seat for her. As Atem sat down he wondered when Mahado would just tell her his feelings. Everyone knew that she loved him just as much he loved her.

A popping sound brought him out of his thoughts. Looking over he spotted a fairy he knew personally.

"Hey there Fay."

She jumped a little and turned to him and smiled nervously. "Hey Atem, how's it going?"

"Don't know, but you might."

"Umm . . . well, I don't think I should tell you just yet."

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because everyone might want to hear this Atem." A soft but loud commanding voice said from the other side of the room. Turning, he saw Jason with a slightly amused look on his face.

Jason was average height with a tan. He had the looks of a young man just barely starting out in the world, of course, that was just looks. With midnight black hair and warm brown eyes you never would have guessed that he was actually a powerful god.

"Fay, mind coming on up to explain?"

"O-of course sir!" she stuttered and flutter forward. Once up she turned to everyone and began. "Someone has been disturbing the soul count."

Gasps of shock went up around the room. Jason's lips were pressed into a thin line. "Go on."

"One of Death's Watch Spirits told me. It started about two weeks ago, they thought it was a life angel, but as you know, they only stay in one place for about a week. So when it continued they looked into it and found that when they died there was no spirit left."

"So what does this have to do with the Afterlife?" Mana asked. "You said the door to this Afterlife was closed."

Jason nodded. "So it is, but no matter how different an Afterlife is, Death connects all of them together. So if Death fades, so does our Afterlife and many others. Fay, is there anything else? What does Death have to say on this?"

"Well . . . I asked but Aura said she couldn't say _anything_."

Jason's eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"All the original Spirit Watchers were fired from their positions and they were sealed into the Death's realm. New ones were appointed and swore that they wouldn't say anything. But Aura hinted enough, there's a new Death."

"Great," Jason muttered. "_Just_ what I needed, no doubt there will need to be meetings upon meetings. Do we even know it the new Death is a girl or man?"

"Aura never told me." Fay said. He sighed and sat down.

"Where is this happening?"

She giggled and looked right at Atem. "One of us could guess correctly."

Atem's eyes widened and he inhaled sharply. "Domino City."

"Correct. Death predicts that it could spread to the other cities if it's not stopped. Aura slipped to me that Death is going to Domino City to take care of it!"

There was a short silence before Jason spoke. "Well I'll be damned, not literally, so this new Death gets things done. Good, for once, I might get along with Death."

"I take it you've had bad moments with the other Deaths before?"

"Only the last one. He was so lazy it was disgusting. Anyways, everyone else can go on with their daily routines except for Atem, his father and priests, stay here."

Mana threw a pencil at his head.

"Of course, how could I forget, Mana, you too."

Atem choked and tried not to burst out laughing but failed miserably. "Yes, yes, laugh your head off Atem. Now, I want all of you to go and see what's going on. Fay, please tell them what you told me."

She gulped and paled. "Rumor has it that Zorc's son is in Domino City, so it might be him trying to break the seal."

"Joy." Atem muttered.

"Will you be going Jason?" Mana asked a little too sweetly. He smirked at her.

"As a matter of fact, I am. What, you thought I was going to let you have all the fun? I think not." He said. Mana pouted and glared at him and like a child, Jason stuck his tongue out at her.

"Oh no . . ." Atem moaned, banging his head on the table. "This is going to be a _long_ adventure."

* * *

Yes Atem, this is going to be a long adventure. So, I hope everyone loved this chapter, don't think I haven't let up on the 'ten reviews'. I get ten reviews, which will put the review count up to 20, and I'll update. Come on peeps! It's not that hard! I'll even take a meek review that says, 'It was good.' (Though I'd prefer a longer one . . .)

I hope everyone loved Dark. Though he may be the son of Zorc I wanted to give him a heart and feelings to counteract his father. Right now, he's still a bit lost in his place. If you have any more questions about the story or about Dark, leave a review or send me a message.

Remember Sara Darkotter's funny version of this story? Well, she should be just about done with her first chapter. So look out!

Peace out guys, I hope you liked the story, see ya soon!


	4. Lost

HI! Everyone! I hope everyone has had a good weekend! So, last time Atem was complaining that it was going to be a long adventure. In this chapter, Dark gets lost, which leaves him no choice but to use the ultimate weapon he has! (Wonder what that is?) Find out!

Disclaimer! I own nothing!

* * *

Becoming Death

Chapter 4

Anzu and Dark were standing at the Gates of Death. She was thumbing through some pages until she exclaimed. "Ah ha!"

Dark jumped out of his daydream and glared at her. "Could you give a warning next time?" he snapped.

"No." she said bluntly. He rolled his eyes, tapping his foot as she started the spell. "Alright Dark, close your eyes."

"Okay." He said and followed her instructions. A flow of power flooded over him and once again he felt a little awe over the fact that his Master, even though she was being weakened by the lose of souls, still had a large amount of power.

There was a moment of silence before a boat horn made him open his eyes. He looked around wildly for a moment then realized that he was on Earth now. The next thing he looked at was the ocean. Anzu had only told him about, he had never actually seen it. "Wow, Anzu, it looks beautiful, just like you said!" he exclaimed over the crash of the waves.

It took him a moment though, to realize that he didn't get an answer. He frowned and turned around. His jaw dropped and he paled, though he didn't want to accept it, he was lost.

"*&%?$"

* * *

Atem groaned as Mana and Jason continued to bicker at each other. They had been going this for the last hour or two, to hell with it, maybe it was three. "Will you two _shut up_!" he yelled.

They both stopped with matching blushes and sheepish looks. "Sorry." They muttered and went off, in different directions thankfully. He sighed and sank into one of the many lawn chairs on the boat. "Thank Ra."

"You've been tense Atem." A familiar voice said softly. He jumped up and looked over to see Mahado.

He shrugged and looked away out at the ocean. "Is it about your friend?" he finally asked. Atem looked over at him sharply but gave up a second later. Mahado was his friend.

"Yes."

"Which one?"

"Anzu."

He said it with such sadness that it alarmed Mahado a little bit. Then he spotted the emotion that was impossible to hide in his eyes. A slow, sympathetic smile replaced his surprised look. "I take it she means quite a bit to you, Pharaoh."

"She does. Mahado . . . she loved me and I _knew_ it and said _nothing_ to her!" he said softly, his face twisted in anger, at himself. Mahado sat beside him and put his hand on his shoulder in a brotherly manner.

"Now you have a chance to fix it. You know, your father would not hate you if you choose to stay. It's frowned upon, but not illegal. You can marry her and stay here."

"What if she has a life though? A child, a husband? If she has all that and she hasn't moved on from me, I could throw her life into chaos." He whispered.

"Then all you have to say is you're sorry, and hope that she'll forgive you. If she doesn't have those things, then you can ask her for forgiveness and see if she'll love you."

Atem nodded, satisfied with the answer. Silence fell between them but it wasn't awkward. Suddenly, making them both jump, the boat horn broke the silence, telling everyone that land was within sight.

Mana started to cheer loudly along with Jason. Atem sighed and grinned at his friend. "Here we go."

Dark was having mini heart attacks. Where in the world was he? Of course he knew he was at the docks in Domino City but this was his first time on Earth, he had no idea where to go!

Suddenly he heard another boat horn, and this time as he looked back, the boat was pulling up. When the people on the boat got off, Dark could have sworn that his heart was doing back-flips and hoping into his throat. It was the priests and Atem! Along with his father!

Mana, Atem's friend, was the first to notice him. "Hey there!"

He gasped and backed away, which made him lose his footing, causing him to fall flat on his butt. Now he had all of their attention. Mana walked up to him and looked down at him. "What's wrong?"

Dark was _speechless_! What was he supposed to say? Well, that didn't stop his mouth. "Mommy."

That one word caused him to blush. Did he just seriously call his Master, mommy? What the hell was wrong with him?

"You lost your Mommy?" she asked him.

Too late, might as well go along with it. He nodded quickly and decided to put the Super Puppy Dog Eyes to work. He watched as she caved in. After a minute she picked him up and turned to the others. "Can we take him home with us and help him find his Mommy?" she begged.

He continued to use the Super Puppy Eyes. It had the same effect. Atem sighed. "I guess we could. Besides, it would be a little cruel to just leave him."

Jason growled at him and muttered. "He looks like a puppy."

Mana glared at him and snuggled Dark like a plush toy. "I bet he would be the cutest one out there!"

_"Darn right I would be!"_ Dark thought proudly.

Atem smirked at her as he walked by. "Then you better make sure you don't make Kaiba smile."

Mana stopped her cuddling and looked up. "Why?"

"Because, every time he smiles ten thousand puppies die."

Mana had a look of pure horror on her face which made Atem laugh. Dark on the other hand, decided that being a puppy would have been a bad life-time choice.

"I'm joking Mana!" he laughed. "Come on, let's head over to Yugi's place, then we'll start searching."

"Alright."

_"Help me Mommy!" _Dark cried. This time, he didn't care if he called Anzu 'mommy'.

* * *

Okay, I'm sure most of you has read the manga, right? Then I would like to recall when Joey was in the haunted house and those wonderful little symbols came up? Remember? It's a just a joke. (Seriously)

What's Dark gonna do?

Who knows? Oh wait, I do. LOL!

See ya next chapter!


	5. Altering Memories

Hi everyone! I have little to say . . . Oh well, hope you like my chapter!

Disclaimer! I own nothing!

* * *

Becoming Death

Chapter 5

Dark was extremely nervous. Where was Anzu and why wasn't she helping him? He fidgeted being around the priests, especially Atem. He knew his father and the Pharaoh were bitter enemies, and he wasn't too keen on telling him who he was.

_"Dark?"_

_"Anzu! Where are you?"_

_"The Game Shop."_

_"Oh . . . wait, how did I get separated from you?"_

_"Ah, that was my fault. I figured you could hold back them back for a few minutes while I alter the memory of my friends."_

_"Hold on! You're altering their memories? Master, that's dangerous, especially in your condition."_

_"Oh?"_

_"What happens when your power gets so weak that the spell disappears?"_

_"What will happen, will happen."_

_"Master . . ."_

_"Dark, just hold on for a few more minutes, alright?"_

_"Fine." He muttered._

"Hey." A voice said, bringing Dark out of his connection with his Master. He was face to face with Pharaoh Atem. If Mana had not been holding him he would have stumbled back in shock.

"Huh?" he replied.

"What's your mother look like?"

_"You've been calling me _Mom?"

Dark blushed and stuttered a bit but before he could actually reply. "Umm, she's tall, has short brown, and blue eyes." He said, glad that Anzu had told him what she looked like before she became Death.

Atem nodded and stood up and looked around. "We're almost there anyway." He said. Dark watched as they turned the corner as he saw a small building with a turtle on it. The street itself wasn't very busy at all. A few people here and there dotted the area but other then that it was a quiet place.

"Is that it?" Mahado asked. Atem turned to him and nodded.

"Yep, come on, let's try and eat something before Joey and Tristan eat everything."

Mana looked curiously at the game store. "You told me about them, do they really eat everything?"

Dark was a bit curious too. Anzu had told him about their eating habits, but he didn't believe it. Atem turned to them, a smirk on his face. "I can't believe it Mana; you thought I wasn't telling the truth?"

She pouted a bit and mumbled under her breath. Since she was holding Dark he heard what she said. He laughed a bit, thinking it was soft, but it turned out to be loud. He blushed a bit and hid in Mana's arms when he felt a few gazes turn to him.

He never did like the attention that some people gave him.

Atem seemed to sense his discomfort and spoke. "Well, come on, what are you guys staring at?" pretending not to know who they were staring at. His words managed to shake their stares and they all turned to the Game Shop.

_"Anzu!"_

_"I see you. Do you want me to greet you, son?" she teased._

_"Shut up and help me!"_

_"Fine, fine, hold your horses."_

Dark felt the link close and he heard movement within the shop. The door opened to a young woman with pale skin that mirrored the moon's beautiful white eerie light, which made her chocolate, shoulder length brown hair look even darker, almost black. Her sapphire colored eyes, which no doubt had been bright when she was younger, were a deep hypnotizing blue that seemed to look right into a person's soul.

Dark heard a sharp intake of breath from several of the men. It made him smile secretly. The saying, 'if looks could kill' fit perfectly with his Master. She smiled and turned to Mana. A look of surprise and relief flashed across her face.

"Thank goodness! You found him!" she cried. Dark ran out of Mana's arms and hugged his 'mother' fiercely.

_"You _ever_ do that again I'll kill you."_

_"We'll see about that." She laughed._

"Anzu, you know him?" Atem asked.

* * *

She looked up at him, meeting her blue eyes with his crimson eyes. "Yes, he's my son."

Anzu noted the pain the crossed over his face and the guilt . . . guilt? Why was he guilty? She smiled at him reassuringly, even though she had told herself a million times that he couldn't possibly love she still couldn't stand to cause him pain and see him in pain.

"I adopted him two years ago when I figured that I wouldn't find the man of my dreams." That was a lie. She had found the man of her dreams, only, there were set backs. One, he was a Pharaoh that lived 5,000 years ago, two she was Death, and three, there must be some law that forbids a union between Death and spirit . . . of course, she could change that though.

The pain went away and his smile returned. She opened the door to let them in. "What am I doing keeping you guys out here, come on in." she said happily. Once they all came in they started to look around. Anzu watched them with amusement until she felt a tug on her shirt.

Looking down she found herself looking into Dark warm brown eyes. A slow, sly smile formed on his lips and he mentally started to hum the K-I-S-S-I-N-G Song. She gasped in outrage and tried to hit him across the head but he ducked just in time and ran upstairs to get away from her, laughing softly.

Anzu glared after him and sighed. "That's a good boy you have there." A soft voice said. She turned around to see Atem standing beside her. Smiling, she nodded in agreement.

"Yes, he is a good boy. Though I'm still waiting for his growth spurt."

_"I heard that!" he snapped._

Anzu laughed softly, laughing both her statement and his reply. Atem smiled, and then looked around. "Where's Yugi by the way?"

Anzu pointed upstairs. "Up there with the gang and their new additions to their families." He nodded and was about to head up when the while gang came down, smiling.

"Hey there Atem, it's nice to see you again!" Yugi exclaimed as he hugged him in a brotherly manner. Hellos and greeting went around the room and the gang was catching Atem up on the events that happened after he left.

When Yugi was explaining their senior year he tripped over his words. He closed his eyes as if to get something straight. Anzu had flashed her power at him, helping the spell that she had put on the hours before.

_Flashback_

_She walked in the Game Shop and made sure the bell on the door didn't announce her entrance. Walking upstairs she found everyone there. Smiling like a cat that had caught its prey she walked in. The men jumped up, finally noticing her presence. But just as quickly as they were ready to fight, they stopped upon seeing her._

_"Anzu? But, you're dead!" Tristan said, no doubt trying to deny what he was seeing. She smiled and in one quick movement she knocked them out. The girls were protecting the children but with a snap of Anzu's fingers everyone was knocked out._

_End of Flashback_

It had been too easy, altering their memories, but Yugi was harder, like she expected. He was the reincarnation of Atem after all. Joey had proven somewhat of a challenge, but in the end she still altered his memories.

Dark had proven a point though; if she was too weak then the spell would disappear, leaving confusion and other emotions in chaos. She pressed her lips together in a thin line, she had to take chances, and countless Afterlifes depended on her.

Yugi stuttered again over a false memory and once again she had to force her power on him. Anzu caught Dark's eyes and he nodded. This was going to be a challenge just to keep them in line.

* * *

Did I do good? Hope I did. :)

Please leave a review and have a nice day!

Germnatownmaiden~


	6. Forgiveness in a Blessing

Hi! I'm back and in North Carolina with a talking bird. (Who can say bitch and onther wonderful, delightfully things . . . -_-) I've haven't much to say, so . . . I hope you like the chapter!

Disclaimer! I own NOTHING!

* * *

Becoming Death

Chapter 6

Atem sighed as he fell back into the bed. Yugi actually had a place of his own, other then the game shop. It was a nice size; actually it was a bit large since it could fit all of the priests.

The twins, Mitsuko, being the oldest, and Mizuki, the youngest, Rebecca loved Japanese names and when she found out about the twins it took a few months to get Yugi to agree with the names.

The Mitsuko, from what Rebecca says, means child of light and Mizuki means beautiful moon. The names suited them, Mitsuko loved to play outside a lot, because of that her hair had a lot more blond highlights and she had a warm tan. Mizuki on the other hand, was very pale and had midnight black hair that turned silver under the moonlight, making her look other-worldly.

Tristan and Serenity had a boy and a baby girl on the way, Michael was a mix between them. Joey and Mai had a girl and a baby boy on the way. Yuki was like her mother, thankfully, she got her mother's good brain. She was pale and was close to bleach blond hair.

Atem smiled as he remembered being introduced to all of them. The twins were, as bad as it sounded, his favorites. They had a certain energy that he could deal with. Not only that, but he had discovered that Yugi had made him their Godfather.

"You look happy." A soft voice said. Sitting up he saw Anzu leaning against the doorframe. A shiver passed through him, he had locked that door, he was sure of it, but then . . . how did she open it? Pushing the thoughts away he smiled.

"Yes, I am tired. The twins sure know how to wear someone down." He laughed.

She smiled; a long, lost look filled her eyes. "Yes, they do, I could barely control them back then . . ."

"Pardon?"

She snapped back to the present and gave him a shaky smile. "Nothing, just going back to old memories."

"I know what you mean." He chuckled. Anzu sighed and sat down on the corner of his bed. _"No, you don't have any idea what I mean."_

"So, I guess I need to thank you, properly for finding Dark for me. I was having heart attacks; the gang could hardly hold me down."

Atem smiled brightly at her and shook his head. "Not a problem, but why was he at the docks?"

"Ah, he's never seen the ocean before so when I told him about it he really wanted to see it. I guess that was the reason." She said. Atem nodded a few times before he turned to her.

"Anzu, his parents, why did they . . . ?"

"He ran away, his father is an ass, his mother . . . well, lets just say that she's not in her right mind."

"Insane, you mean?"

"Yes, all in all, she's insane and she's continuing to lose it." She said angrily. Atem frowned.

"He ran away?"

"When it got worse. From what Dark says, his Father is the only thing stopping her from going completely insane. When Dark and his father started to act like father and son his mother started to discredit him. When Dark realized what was happening he got out of there, fast."

Atem stared at Anzu in shocked silence. "Are you serious? She discredited him because he was getting close to his father?"

"Apparently, she was worried that Dark would, in a sense, replace her in levels of importance."

Shaking his head, he felt pity growing in his heart for the boy. "I can't believe there are mothers out there that are like that."

Anzu snorted. "No kidding. When I saw Dark and he explained to everything I just opened my arms and let him in."

"It's a good thing you did. Dark is a good boy, like I said earlier." Anzu smiled softly and nodded. A friendly silence stretched out as they sat in silence. Then, Atem broke it.

"Anzu, I need to tell you something."

Looking over, giving him her attention, she waited for him to continue. "I . . . need to tell you I am sorry."

"For what?" she asked, slightly confused. Was this part of the guilt she saw when she had seen him at the door?

"You gave me your heart on a gold platter, and I hurt you deeply when I left, when I said nothing to you. I knew of your feelings and I said nothing. Now I ask, I beg, that you forgive me for hurting you. I know that I do not deserve your forgiveness, but I ask and hope that you will forgive me."

Anzu sat there in stunned silence. Atem, one of the greatest Pharaohs of Egypt, was asking for her forgiveness. Slowly, her stunned mouth turned into a smile. Giving him a hug, she whispered in his ear. "You already have my forgiveness Atem. I should have guarded my heart a little better rather then putting it on a golden platter, as you put it." She giggled.

She let him go, her hands holding his shoulders loosely. She leaned in once again and kissed him gently on the forehead. "Remember Atem, you are my friend, you never have to ask for my forgiveness, never."

Letting him go she slipped out of the room like a ghost. Atem sat there for a moment, staring at the door she left in. Touching the place where she had kissed him, he blushed softly. Her kiss felt so much like a . . . blessing.

* * *

Anzu left him, smiling. She didn't lie, she had forgiven him, and she _should_ have guarded her heart more.

"You haven't changed Atem, not one bit. If you asked me to return you to the World of the Living, I would probably return you without any strings attached." She whispered softly. The shadows came alive once again, minus her tattoos and her wings; she summoned her scythe and let the shadows surround her.

The sun was setting, twilight was almost here. The shadows started to twirl around her in a twister, then, in a whisper of wind, she disappeared to hunt for whoever was taking the souls.

* * *

Did you like it? I hope so! Its kinda fluffy. But I likes it. :)

So, please leave a review, pretty please? (I won't update unless I get ten reviews for this chapter. Deal with it.)

See ya soon!


	7. What's Going On?

YA! I did it! I got it up! YA YA YA!

So, as you can see, I'm updating pretty much all my stories as fast as I can.

I made this chapter up in a few quick ten minutes, so please, I understand if you don't like it, but don't be angry at me of leave flames and other such.

Thank you for waiting!

Disclaimer! I own NOTHING!

* * *

Becoming Death

Chapter 7

Dark was sitting in his bed, waiting for everyone to sleep. His Master had left already. Already he could feel her power dimming. Growling, he got up and released his powers.

He opened his eyes to a world that wasn't so big anymore. He was maybe an inch taller then his Master now. Summoning his scythe, he spread his awareness over the house, double checking.

Once he assured himself that everyone was sleeping, he transported to Anzu.

He was in an ally. An inhuman screech filled the air as he turned to see his Master swing at a demon. A demon that he knew!

She turned to him when the demon turned to dust. "Dark, it's been a while since I've seen that form."

He shrugged, trying not to be drawn in by her. When she was at full blast as she was now, when she walked, she danced, when she danced, she put one under a spell, and when she put one under a spell, it was almost always a curse. "I thought I would join in and help. By the way, I knew that demon."

She tipped her head to the side. "Did you now? Who was he?"

"One of my father's high ranking generals. He's in charge of protecting my mother."

Anzu's eyes turned to stone at the mention of his mother. "Could it be her?"

"It might be, she'll do anything for father, but to do this? My father isn't that dumb. He relies on you just as much as the Afterlife does."

"Good point, Dark. Hmm . . . could she be doing this without his command?"

"That's the best bet. She's insane, remember? He'll mean one thing while she'll assume it another way."

Anzu rolled her eyes. "Stupid she-demon." She muttered. Dark nodded in agreement.

"When we'll the Pharaoh and the others tell your friends the info?" he asked, since the whole soul-taking didn't come up last night.

"When they wake up, he knows Yugi will sense it eventually."

Dark sighed. Her tone told him not to talk anymore. He took off to one ally, already sensing another demon. He didn't hear Anzu, so she was probably off doing her own thing. He spotted the demon then, in fact, there were several of them.

He smiled and let his rhythm sink in as he killed them all.

* * *

In the morning, after breakfast, everyone was sitting in Yugi's living room. The priests and Pharaohs were sitting on the opposite sofas. "What's going on, Atem?" Yugi asked.

"A problem. You guys ready to deal with magic again?" he asked. The gang looked at him for a moment before smiling.

"Just like the good old days, huh? I see why not, I'm kinda ready for this boringness to end anyway."

"Ditto dude." Tristan grinned at him. "So what's happening?" he asked.

"The worst thing that could possibly happen. Someone is taking souls." Jason said. "Though our Afterlife is closed to others, it doesn't mean it's completely closed. Death is connected to _all_ Afterlifes, therefore, if Death should fade, the so does every other Afterlife."

A shocked gasp filled the room. "What do you mean, Death is connected to all?"

"Death is the ultimate gateway to the Afterlifes, she or he is connected to them so that, if there is another spirit like Atem out and about, Death can take the soul and send it to the correct place."

Rebecca asked the question this time. "What do you mean, she or he? Can Death switch genders?"

Jason smiled and was about to answer, but it was Anzu answered. "I read this in a book somewhere," she paused. "Supposedly, Death is like a generation line, the blood chooses the best person to continue what the very first Death started, but Death can often go against the blood and will choose their reincarnation or something like that, making it a type of power play. Death can be any gender."

"Is there a time limit?" Mai asked as everyone blinked at what she just said.

Anzu shook her head. "The book didn't say anything like that." She turned to Jason. "Do you know?'

He nodded. "What you just said, is correct. You should tell me that book, I would like to see who wrote it. Anyway, each Death needs an ability, one that will let he or she stand out. If not, then they have about a thousand years, but for those who gain an ability, if its strong, they'll be Death much longer than a thousand years, but if its weak, then their years as Death is limited. The last Death only had his scythe for ten years."

"What was his ability?" Anzu asked, her voice stiff.

"Ah, I believe it was something about his voice . . . hold on, let me think . . . ah! He could make his voice echo across areas, an odd ability, but still, gave him ten years."

"What was the shortest time?" Yugi asked, slightly curious.

Jason smiled as everyone looked at him, curiosity shining in there eyes, even the spirits. "A minute, maybe two."

That shocked everyone. "A minute or two?" Rebecca repeated.

"Screwed up, right?" Jason laughed. "But, that's just how the line goes. Even though people in the past have made Gods of Death, none can actually be Death. The line is for a special selective few. The first Death made sure of that."

There was a short silence before Joey broke it. "Was there every a powerful Death?"

Jason laughed. "Death is always powerful, no matter how much time he or she has at being Death, they are powerful. But, the very first Death was. Lived for a long, long time. Killed the dinosaurs too."

"I thought Death takes on a human shape?"

"Most of the time," he told Tristan. "But every Death can shift into anything it wants. The first Death was made from dead stardust. It merely found out that it was conscious. I don't know anything, gods and goddess have not idea how old the Death line is. Death has most of the answers that we don't have to life and such, only Death knows such things."

"So . . ." Mana said. "Death is like, one step above the gods and goddess?"

"You could say that." Jason sighed and glared at her as she smirked at him.

"What was the first Death's ability?" Atem asked. "If it lived for such a long time, then the ability must have been great."

"Ah, a touché subject." Jason cringed slightly. "Legend says that the first Death had the ability to kill Gods and Goddesses, and let me tell you something, I'm glad that there will be no other Death like the first."

"But, I thought nothing could kill gods or goddesses." Yugi said.

Jason shook his head. "Not true when it came to the first Death. Even gods and goddesses get to a point where they're just done with existing so they have another god or goddess kill them. We are not as ultimate as we appear to be, so if there is another Death that gains the ability then we have to play low and give plenty of tribute."

Anzu smiled mentally. When she made herself known, she better get tribute. Dark came in then. "What's with all the talking?" he murmured sleepily. His black hair was messy and his eyes were puffy from sleep.

"Morning Dark, how'd you sleep?"

"Good." He muttered and shuffled off into the kitchen.

Mai smiled. "I swear Anzu, that is the most cutest little kid I have every seen, other then my own kids, of course."

She laughed. "Why thank you Mai, he is, isn't he?" Serenity was nodding, even the spirits were smiling. Anzu noticed that Atem's smile had much more warmth then the others. It made her wonder . . . was he starting to like Dark as a friend?

Well that's an amusing thought.

Pharaoh Atem was becoming friends with the son of his sworn enemy.

* * *

Ya! As you can see, I tried my best, I really did.

So, hope you liked it, please leave a review. (I have not dropped the 10 review thing! btw)

Germantownmaiden~


	8. A not so nice day

Ah, hi guys. Hasn't been a while, so I'll make this quick. Thank you for reading this special of two chapters. (Better then one.)

Disclaimer! I own nothing.

* * *

Becoming Death

Chapter 8

Jason had to bring up the next problem. "There's more, we're not done yet." He said, his voice strained. They turned back to him, giving him their full attention. "One of our faeries, Fay, found out that Zorc the Dark One, has a son."

He watched as everyone stiffened, their eyes turning hard and filled with a small amount of hate. "A son?" Yugi asked.

Jason nodded. "So I've been told. I don't have a clue what he looks like or what his name is, which means we have to concentrate on the magic surrounding him."

"Meaning . . . ?" Mana asked.

Jason rolled his eyes. "Mahado will most likely, and others, have to check people's aura. We can't really check the air because it's overloading with magic."

"Why?" Mai asked.

Atem answered. "Because, a soul has magic in it and surrounding it. Since people have lost some magic that we used to practice, their souls aren't overloaded with it, but when a large amount of souls are not taken to Death and they just stay around, that little bit of magic that's in them can build up."

"If someone can figure out how to control and direct that magic and energy, then they can open any portal and seal they want." Isis said. That's when it clicked for the gang.

"So whoever is doing all this . . . plans to release Zorc?" Joey said.

"That's the idea." Atem said.

"Alright," Rebecca said. "Then we need to find the souls, we need to free them first so the Afterlifes don't collapse, then we face the demon or whoever is doing this."

"You're jumping ahead of things." Anzu said. They turned to her, giving her curious looks. "Think about this for a minute, if Zorc planned for this, then he would be putting himself in deep shit. Zorc is about darkness and death, he relies on Death just as much as the Afterlifes do. If he did plan for this, then when he sent whoever to do this task, he would send protectors to shield this unknown person. So we might not just be dealing with a powerful demon, but several powerful ones who will act as shields."

Atem's eyes narrowed as he thought about what Anzu had just said. It was possible, and she was right, Zorc did rely on Death. "If he planned this he must have found a way to cut himself away from Death . . ."

"But what if he didn't plan it." Seto pointed out. Questions rolled around in everyone's head as they thought of the possiblities. Anzu stood up.

"Enough, we'll get our answers when we get more information." Everyone hesitated for a moment before they all nodded in agreement.

_"It's a good thing they don't know about me, huh?" _Dark said through his shared mind-link with Anzu.

_"Yes, but keep yourself hidden, Dark. You are my apprentice, and I will not allow their ignorance of your true-self label you as the bad guy."_

_" . . ."_

_"Dark?"_

_"Just because I was born with a kind heart, Anzu, doesn't mean anything. I am still his son."_

_"Dark!"_

_"Stop, Anzu. Even I have a side you haven't seen before."_

Anzu fell silent and looked toward the kitchen. Dark wasn't even eating his food, just pushing it around. Suddenly a very loud noise burst through the house as the twins and the rest of the kids starting chanting to go to the park.

Yugi got up to tell them to stop that but was slammed to the ground by his daughters. "Daddy! We want to go to the park!" Mitsuko said, her sister was nodding in agreement.

"Well then," he said, trying to get some air back into his lungs. "How about we head to the park then, it's going to be a nice day anyway, why not make it a picnic?" he said.

The children cheered and jumped around now chanting 'picnic'. Everyone was still smiling by the time they got everything packed up. "How about we bring games." Atem suggested. Yugi smirked at him.

"Trying to get your game back on?"

"Maybe." He replied. The twins brought out a huge bag filled with games.

"Here ya go!" Mizuki said. He smiled and took the bag while patting them on the head.

"Come on, let's get out of here." He called to everyone in the kitchen. The twins came up to him then and started to ask a thousand questions. The priests were enjoying the sight. Suddenly Dark popped in out of no where and grabbed the twins, saving Atem from answering.

"You two have always asked too many questions." He sighed.

"No we don't!" Mitsuko denied loudly, making her little sister giggle.

After a short walk to the park, Atem noticed that many groups of family and friends had the same thing on their mind this day. Joey shouted in joy as he held up a game called Twister. As he set it up Anzu came over and sat beside Atem.

"Let the chaos ensue." She muttered. With the look on Dark's face, it wasn't hard to guess what he wanted to ask.

"Just watch, Dark." Atem smiled. The boy nodded and sat in between them and watched as Joey stepped in Priest Seto's face and challenged him to Twister.

"Oh no." Anzu said, trying to stifle her laughter as Seto accepted the challenge, not knowing what he was getting into. Atem covered his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking with laughter.

"This isn't going to end well." he chuckled.

To the gang's surprise, the priest was actually really good at Twister. It went on for an hour, the laughter finally spilled out of Isis's lips, her cheeks pink as she tried her best not to laugh at the awkward positions and just plain weird ones. In fact, everyone was like that.

Dark was laughing along with the kids, clutching his rips.

Joey ended it when he lost the game by falling flat on his face. Tristan was the first to comment. "Dude! You can't even beat him when he doesn't even _know_ Twister!" he laughed. Joey got up and ran after him. Tristan far from his reach, still laughing.

Suddenly Joey turned on his heel and sprinted for Atem. He touched his shoulder and said, "You're it!" and ran off.

The kids squealed and ran off. Atem smirked and got up. "So we're playing tag, huh?" he turned to Isis and grinned. "I think you need your exercise, Isis." She got up but she felt the tap on her shoulder.

"Pharaoh!" she glared. He grinned and stayed close, but if she tried to tag him he just dodged her so she went for Mahado. He went for Mana and she managed to get Atem again.

He was about to go for Dark when the ground below them gave a jerk, sending people to the ground. Screams erupted from the other children on the playground and parents calling their names to try and get them.

Atem watched as a large crack appeared in the park. A figure stepped forward, her long black hair fell in curls around her. Her red eyes glowed with a power he couldn't describe. "There you all are, I thought I would never find you." She said, her voice sounding like a soft bell. But no one could mistake the evil aura that surrounded her.

Dark was holding on to Anzu, who had passed out when his mother came from wherever she had come from. Peeking out, he growled. How could someone so insane and evil be that beautiful? It wasn't right.

He turned to the children that were behind him. The twins were staring at the demon in horror. "Stop!" he whispered. They turned to him.

"What do we do?" Mizuki whispered.

Dark turned to Anzu but she was still out of it. "Close your eyes, don't peek, whoever that is knows when someone is looking at her, so close your eyes." He lied. When he made sure their eyes were shut he snapped his fingers and transported them to Yugi's house and put them to sleep. He turned back to the priests.

"I must say, I didn't think it would be this easy, but oh well, I not only get the Pharaoh and his priests, but the god and his future friends too." She laughed and with a wave of her hand they disappeared.

Dark jumped out. "No!" he swore under his breath and turned back to his Master. He put her body under the glamour that would hide her from everyone. He turned and reached out for the sickening aura of his mother. Once he was sure he had it, he followed it, hoping that it wasn't too late for his friends.

* * *

HA HA! Didn't expect me to shove it in ya'lls face so quickly, huh? Good thing its a two chapter special.

I should probably mention that the spirits were in modern clothes, not their Egyptain clothes. So Seto wasn't showing anything off. (Just to let you guys know . . .)

ONWARD!


	9. Truths

Second part of the special! Here ya go!

also, I should probably say this, just to be sure. (I don't own Twister. Its for last chapter) People sue for stupid reasons. I don't want to become a person who was sued for a stupid reason.

Disclaimer I own nothing!

* * *

Becoming Death

Chapter 9

Dark ran through the streets that were filled with chaos. Fires were everywhere, lights were out and the city looked ready to collapse on itself. He gritted his teeth and continued to follow his mother's aura.

She had his friends; no doubt she was going to use them for the final sacrifice. He couldn't let that happen. _'How ironic,'_ he thought. _'I see the pharaoh who sealed my father away as my friend.'_

But he liked Atem, of course, not in that way. Anzu wouldn't let him live. Heck, if he had more time to get to know Atem more, he would probably see him as a fatherly figure.

He turned down a street and stopped. Someone was here.

"Hello, Prince." A snobbish voice said in a loud voice. He turned on his heel and found himself facing Lily, a young, powerful demon. "I had no idea that you were still alive, I figured you were dead."

"Shows what you know since I'm standing right in front of you." He replied evenly. She shrieked in rage and threw a handful of black fire at him. He merely swatted it aside with the back of his hand. He remembered in the past that he had thought that she was the most powerful female demon around. Now she was weak.

She looked in shock and used both of her hands to throw her black fire, but it had the same effect. "What have you become?" she snarled. He smirked and muttered a spell under his breath.

"Something beyond even you, Lily." She bared her teeth and rushed at him but he opened a portal to his old home. "So sorry, Lily."

She screamed as she fell into the portal and closed it quickly before another demon could escape. He looked down the ally where he sensed his mother's dark magic. He came up to a wall and pressed his hand against the dirty wall. His hand, which should have come up against a hard surface, instead his hand slipped into the wall.

"So she's using a different dimension, no wonder we couldn't find her at first." He said as the pieces fell into place. He stood up straight and walked through.

When he came out on the other side, he found himself in a place that seemed to be stained with blood. There was a valley of sorts up ahead. He walked towards the ledge and peeked in.

Horror shot through him like a bullet from a gun. They were chained up like animals. Sucking in some air he turned to the next horrified sight.

The souls.

They looked so pitiful screaming and crying against the barrier that held them. The tiny fisted hands of children crying for their parents beat at it but it was no use. The hate for his mother nearly grew blinding. He jumped down into the valley.

"Queen of Zorc! I demand that you realize my friends and those souls!" Time seemed to stop as he yelled. The souls stopped and all looked at him and his friends looked up. Atem's eyes widened in shock and Yugi gasped.

Dark watched his mother turn to him; her red eyes met his brown eyes. He refused to back down; he wouldn't be the one to look away. "Let them go." He hissed.

She smiled and laughed at him. "What is this? A mere child telling me, the Queen of Darkness, what to do?" She laughed. "Maybe I shall keep you as a pet."

"Sorry to burst your bubble lady, but I'm no one's pet." He snarled. She stopped laughing and faced him again. A sneer formed on her face as a black sword formed in her hand.

"What could you possibly do?" she whispered.

Atem finally found his voice. "No! Dark don't do this, go, run, get out of here!" he yelled.

Dark turned to him, surprised. There was concern on everyone's face. They were concerned for his safety. That was when he realized that he couldn't leave them, not even if they hated him after, he had to stay and protect them. He shook his head. "I can't do that; Anzu would be so ashamed if I cared for my own safety at this point." He turned to face his mother again. "One last time, let them go and the souls, and you can go back to your King, alive."

She snarled at him and with a single step she was flying at him, her sword tip aimed for his heart.

"DARK!"

He closed his eyes and let the power that he had held at bay for so long, go. He was once again the size of a young man, his brown eyes changed to a glowing crimson as a sword made of shadows formed in his hand. With a single swing he disarmed his mother and using the punching skills that Anzu had made him do without the mercy of a break until he got it right, his fist slammed into her chest.

She screamed as she was flung backwards into a rock wall. There was dead silence, not even a whisper from the souls was made. Atem, the priests, and the gang stood there in shock at what they had just seen. Dark turned to them. "I'm sorry."

"Dark," Mana asked. "What's going on?"

"TRAITOR!" a scream of fury rose from Zorc's Queen. She got up and pointed at him, the insanity was clear in her eyes. "You, my flesh and blood, betrayed us!"

Jason's eyes narrowed. "Flesh and blood . . ." he whispered before his eyes widened. "You, you're the son of Zorc." He growled, struggling against the chains. "I knew you were no good, the moment I saw you with that Anzu Mazaki-"

"Anzu is dead." Yugi groaned, holding a hand to his head. Atem turned to his friend, who was on his knees now.

"What?"

"She died pushing a child out of on-coming traffic; there was no way to save her . . ."

"But Yugi, we saw her-"

"That wasn't Anzu!" Tristan yelled. He turned to Dark. "I bet he used her body and made a copy of her personality just to get close to us!" Atem turned to Dark but the boy was staring straight at his mother, his gaze filled with hate.

"I'm going to kill you, I'm going to kill you for all the pain you caused me, for those souls, and for Anzu's friends, you are weak now, compared to me." He growled.

She laughed at him. "Really now, Dark? I am Queen, remember?" she sneered.

He smirked. "And as I recall, I only ran away, you are the only one who calls me traitor, I actually, have more power over you."

She snarled. "I will always be your father's favorite; he will never look to you!"

"Good! I don't want him, I don't want you, and I don't want this damned blood!" he yelled. Atem couldn't believe what he was hearing . . . or could he?

The she-demon screamed and raised her newly formed sword and ran at Atem. "No!" Dark screamed as he bolted towards Atem. If he was right about this then he could get there in time.

She was in front of him now, her sword raised high above her head, then, she swung down in a deadly arc. Dark used the rest of his strength and rushed forward. "NO!" he repeated.

Atem's eyes were closed, waiting for the end. He heard the sound of blood spattering. Confusion formed inside him, there was no pain. Was it because the wound was numb at first? He cracked open an eye and found out why.

Because there was no wound.

Dark had been the one to take the blow.

"No." he whispered. "No, Dark!" he yelled as the boy fell on his knees. Slowly, he got up from the ground, his legs shaking in effort to stay up while his blood pooled around him. His sword was still in his hand, despite the fact that it was shaking.

"I'm not done yet." He said, the strain on his voice obvious. He lifted the sword and Atem watched it change to a scythe.

"What are you going to do with a farmer's fool?" the Queen laughed. Dark joined her, causing her to stop.

"What am I going to do? This!" He yelled, slamming the blade of the scythe in the ground, causing the ground to break, the crack was heading toward the barrier that held the souls.

"NO!" She screamed at it shattered into a million pieces. Dark fell to the ground, his blood pooling around him.

"Dark," Atem whispered. "Dark, get up!"

The souls floated out of the portal dimension to Death, no doubt. Dark gave Atem a smile filled with pain. "Sorry, Atem." He gave a shaky breath before he closed his eyes.

* * *

Is Dark going to die? Oh well, you can wait a while longer for that. MWA HA HA HA!

I'm so evil.

Germantownmaiden~


	10. Anzu's Pawn

Hi everyone! I'm sorry my updates haven't happened in a while. I'm working my butt off trying to get them to you. I've also been working on a new story. (I know, I'm insane.)

So, I hope this chapter will be to your liking. I decided to make at least one funny chapter. (If Priest Seto and Joey playing Twister wasn't funny enough.)

Thank you for waiting!

Disclaimer! I own nothing!

* * *

Becoming Death

Chapter 10

Anzu woke up to find herself in a destroyed park. "Dark?" she murmured. When she got no answer she used their mind-link.

_"Dark?"_

_"Master . . . you're awake?"_

_"Yes, what happened?"_

_"My mother, Vega, she came from the ground and took everyone. I stopped her from killing Atem . . ." _she heard him take a shaky breath. "_But I don't think I can stop her for very long. I'm using a compulsion spell; she doesn't even know why she can't attack them. Right now all she's doing is killing their ears."_ He said, trying to hide his pain with humor.

_"Dark . . . why do I feel your life force slipping away?"_

_"That would probably be because I took the sword that would have been for Atem."_

_"Why?"_

_"Because, I'm not stupid, Anzu. He makes you happy. I can see it in your aura, the way you smile."_

Anzu felt tears slid down her cheeks. _"Damn you, if you die Dark, I will resurrect you."_

_"That's not cool."_

_"Deal with it."_ She snapped. Slowly, she stood up, her muscles screaming at the movement.

_"The souls . . . ?"_

_"On their way now."_

Anzu looked up and their they were, the souls swirling around the air, the magic that was once invisible could now be seen by anyone, even those who didn't have a pinch of magic in their blood.

Lifting up her hand, a soul landed in her palm, warm, bright, and happy that it was free. "Aura." She said. A faerie appeared then looking a bit stressed.

"Lady Death!" she said.

"The souls, here they are. Get them into my realm as fast as you can, is that clear?"

"Yes ma' am!" she said, saluting military style. She fluttered away, pulling a few souls with her. The minute those souls went into the realm, Anzu felt her strength return. Her power that she had lost was beginning to flow into her.

"Death Faeries!" she called out. Ten, maybe twenty faeries appeared then. Ready and awaiting her command. "Help Aura."

"Got it!" they answered in unison and fluttered about grabbing souls left and right. Anzu latched on to Dark's aura and walked after him. He was hurt and bleeding. Anger swirled around in her like a twister that would never end.

"Vega _and _Zorc are going to pay for this." She growled as her shadows returned to her, ready to do her bidding at the flick of a finger.

* * *

Atem's ears were about to fall off. The crazy lady, she-demon, he corrected himself, was talking and talking and wouldn't _stop._ Personally, he would rather take a sword wound and deal with the pain then listen to her.

"Jason," he whispered.

The god looked at him with a pained look on his face. "What?"

"How much more of this can you take?"

"Kill me now."

Well, at least Atem wasn't the only one thinking that. "Is Dark still alive?" he asked. Jason turned to him; the anger that used to appear in his eyes was now replaced with concern.

"Barely hanging on, I think he has her under a compulsion spell."

"He does?" That surprised him. "He still has some magic left?"

"Only a little bit, if he continues to bleed out like that, the compulsion spell will probably last for about . . . another ten, twenty minutes."

"Damn," Atem muttered. "That's impressive."

"No kidding, if I had lost that much blood I couldn't even hold up my glamour." he said.

A though popped into Atem's mind at that moment. "Why can't you get us out of here?" he whispered. Jason growled and yanked at the chains.

"Because, she's got me in special chains. They suppress my godly powers."

"Why did that sound sarcastic?"

"Because, there is a loophole in these chains. For a god, they can hold no matter how much the god or goddess throws at it, but for a human, it's like ripping a newspaper."

There was a complete moment of silence between them. Atem was beginning to think that this she-demon was a dumb-ass. "So . . . I could break free?"

"Yeah. You can and everyone else but _me_."

They were silent for a moment more before Atem said. "For a Queen of Darkness, she sure is an idiot."

"No kidding." Jason muttered.

_"Umm . . . could I join in on the talk?"_ Mana asked.

_"Why not."_ Jason muttered. "_It would make this less boring."_

_"Ditto."_ Atem groaned. _"How is everyone faring on your end, Mana?"_

_"Umm . . . Priest Seto looks about ready to fall asleep but Isis is keeping him awake by pinching him, Isis is not only pinching Seto from time to time, but I believe she is also sending some healing energy over to Dark when she gets the chance, Shada is playing Simon Says with Joey, Tristan is trying to calm down Serenity, and Mai and Yugi are betting on who will fall asleep first."_

Atem blinked at the information before speaking. "_Who's Yugi betting on?"_

_"Priest Seto, Mai thinks Rebecca will be the one."_

_"Really?" _Jason asked. "_Why?"_

_"Cause she's struggling to keep her eyes open."_

_"No one will blame her."_ Atem defended her.

_"True, the she-demon can run her mouth." _Mana sighed.

_"By the way, how did Joey get Shada to play Simon Says?"_ Jason inquired.

"_He explained the game and Shada agreed to play when he figured it out. They've been going at it for . . . fifty minutes."_

_"Go for the gold."_ Jason joked. Atem chuckled softly as Mana stifled a giggle. Jason laid down on his back, making the demon pause for a moment in her speech.

"What are you doing?"

"Laying down." He replied. She continued to look at him, not saying anything for a few peaceful seconds before talking again. Atem tried to hold on to her words but a few seconds in, it turned to 'blah, blah, blah, blah' . . . one gets the idea.

Atem was about to suggest playing Simon Says with Jason and Mana but the ground under them shook violently once again. The Queen of Darkness shrieked and tried to stay balanced on the shifting ground. There was a loud crack as the ground split open.

Atem groaned, wasn't popping out of the ground getting a little too cliché?

A presence that felt darker then Zorc and his Queen combined filled the air. Dark gasped and looked up and over to the crack. Atem felt a shiver of fear travel up his spin as shadows curled out of the crack like snakes. Creatures that he could put no name to tried to crawl out.

"Umm . . . can someone explain the creepy crack in the Earth?" Jason said, his face pale.

"So this scares the shit out of you too?" Atem asked.

"Shut up." He muttered.

"I'm not blaming you."

The shadows leapt up into the air and curled into a hooded figure. Atem could easily tell that the figure was female since hooded figure had the hips and body. But somehow, even without the female body, he could see that the cloak was feminine. He squinted his eyes to try and look closer and saw a faint hint of . . . silver at the edges of the cloak.

The figure glided over to Dark and bent over. The fear turned to horror as Atem realized who the hooded figure was.

Death.

"No!" he begged. Death turned to him, but since he could see no face, Atem still had the slight courage to talk. "Please, he helped us, she," he said pointing to the she-demon. "Is the one who took the souls, not him!"

Death stood there for a moment longer before placing a hand on Dark's wound. Thankfully, the hand wasn't just plain bone like some people portrayed it. A bright, warm light lit up the place, sending a peaceful feeling through him. When the light was gone, Dark was coughing, but alive!

He turned to Death and whispered to her. A small giggle could be heard before she turned to the Queen. "Vega, the Queen of Zorc."

She snarled, her nails turned to daggers. "Who are you?"

Dark smirked. "Vega, I would like you to meet my Master." The hooded figure removed the hood and it revealed . . . Anzu!"

"Anzu!" shocked gasps from the gang while the spirits remained silent. "But, but you were dead, I saw you . . . I . . ." Yugi chocked and leaned against Rebecca who wrapped her arms around him, comforting him as best she could.

Her gaze softened and filled with sadness. "My time was taken by the original Death who had chosen me to continue on."

"Why?" Jason asked.

"Because of the ability that I had, that the blood wanted again."

"What ability?" he asked, his eyes narrowed.

She smiled and shook her head. "We talked about this, Jason. I can kill you and other gods and goddesses with the snap of my fingers. I want plenty of tribute, too." She joked.

Jason smiled shakily. "That can be done." Anzu threw back her head and laughed. She turned back to Vega and smiled.

"You, Vega, are a pawn in my game that I have been getting ready to use for five years."

The Queen of Darkness backed away. "What do you mean?"

"You still would have gone insane, I just sped up the process. Had I known you had Dark, I wouldn't have done it, but I'm actually happy and the results that I got. Had I known you would have done all this," she said as she motioned to her surroundings. "I wouldn't have done it. But in the end, it worked out just fine."

Anzu snapped her fingers, making Vega scream as her body turned to dust. Dark stood at the spot where his mother once stood. "What did you do to her?" he asked.

She appeared surprised. "I thought you were going to be mad at me."

He shrugged. "No, not really. You said it would have happened sooner or later and besides, I'm glad about the results as well."

She smiled and turned to her friends. "Lets take a trip to my realm, don't worry, when this whole thing is done I'll send you back where you belong. By the way, I should mention that your children are all sleeping. Safe and sound." She said before snapping her fingers once again, transporting them all.

* * *

So, we figured out that Vega, (which, btw, means falling star. Just for those who wanted to know.) is actually a pawn in Anzu's game.

What's Anzu up to, I wonder? Hmm . . .

FIND OUT IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!


	11. Anzu's Intentions

Two chapters in one day? Can it get any batter? Probably not. :3

So, last time we left off, Anzu was taking them to her world that she made. And in this chapter, I totally do something twisted and truely evil to Zorc. :DDDD MWA HA HA HA HA HA!

Here we go, ONWARD!

Discaimer, I own NOTHING!

* * *

Becoming Death

Chapter 11

Atem shut his eyes quickly as a flash of light filled the air. When he looked again, he was in a completely different place. The Medieval castle and small buildings around the large castle made it look the gray world even more lonely since it was the only city you could see.

"Where . . ." he breathed, "are we?"

Jason stood up on shaky legs and was trying to catch his breath as well. "Welcome!" a loud, cheerful voice exclaimed. Everyone turned to see Dark, his cheerful personality didn't fit the gray world that they were in.

"Why is everything . . ." Yugi trailed off as he looked around with wide eyes.

"Gray?" Dark finished for him. "This is Master Anzu's world, or Death's world. This is where souls who have no religion or something close to a heaven come to. Most of our souls are forgotten children, but we have plenty here."

"Forgotten . . . ?"

"Children who were aborted." Dark explained quickly. Everyone sucked in a sharp breath. "Yeah, we call them Forgotten Children instead. So, any questions?"

"Yeah!" Tristan snapped, standing up. "What the hell is up with the freaky marks on your face and where is Anzu?"

"Freaky marks . . ." Dark said, but his expression brightened. "Oh, you mean these?" he said, pointing to his cheeks and neck.

"Yes."

"These mark me as the apprentice of Death."

"The world is going to end!" Jason groaned, making Dark snort.

"Ha, ha, please, I have probably a million or more years to go before I get that job." He rolled his eyes, giving Jason the 'are-you-stupid' look. "On to the second part of the question you want, Master Anzu is . . ." he said, looking around. "Right there." He said pointing casually over to the left.

Everyone followed his gave to see a lone figure slumped over. "What's wrong with her?" Mai whispered. Dark tipped his head to the side for a minute, as though receiving a message.

"Oh . . . I guess I get to see what her transformation is. She says the rest of you should look away if you don't want to be scared for life."

"What are you-" Priest Seto began but a scream pierced through the air. Anzu seemed to curl up in a tight ball.

"Anzu!" Atem got up to see what was wrong with her but Dark's strong, vise-like grip caught his wrist, stopping him from running to her.

"Pharaoh Atem, I understand you love her and all, but running to her at a time like this will only cause you pain."

Atem spun on his heel to face the boy. "What do you mean?" he whispered hoarsely. Dark sighed and shook his head.

"Don't say I didn't tell you guys to look away." He let go of Atem and stepped back, giving them room and silently watched Anzu. Atem turned to the woman who had somehow, over the little days and minutes he spent with her, stolen his heart.

A pool of ink swirled around her before flattening out. Then, slowly, the ink rose up turned into thousands of needles and pierced her skin. He watched her flinch and she gasped, her teeth clenched as she tried to stop screaming like she had the first time of her transformation.

To his horror, the ink swirled over her skin in intricate patterns. "There is death within her tattoos." Isis whispered, horrified. She was right, Atem could see people, young and old, screaming, crying . . . he saw countless deaths within her tattoos. People were burning, swords killed men of all kinds. Greeks, Romans and Egyptians . . . and so much more.

Then, a sound reached his ears, one that he never wanted to hear ever again. It was the sound of ripping skin. The clothes on Anzu's back were shredded as wings of that of a demon and an angel sprouted from her back, covered in blood. It was as if someone wanted to somehow soften a demon's wings by adding feathers to the hard edges. Her wings were a black-grayish color, dark, but not completely black.

In an insane way, her tattoos and wings were incredibly beautiful. It was slightly morbid, but, the designs and curls, the twists and turns, the perfection of the tattoos that could never be done by mortal hand, were truly, morbidly, beautiful.

Minutes passed before Dark's soft voice cut the silence. "Master?"

"I'm fine," she said softly. The shadows curled around her hand, creating a jagged scythe of lethal beauty. Two or three skulls hung off the top of the staff where the blade started from, looking like wind chimes. Atem squinted his eyes to see what was on the skulls and found patterns similar to her tattoos.

She walked by and pointed her scythe to an open space. A violent wind sprung up, making everyone hold on to their hair.

A red light appeared then. Anzu whispered something harshly, making the red light grow until it was about the height of a standard person. Dark gasped and spun on his heel. "Why are you opening the portal?"

"Because, I have my pawn and I plan to use it." She snarled. "Come forth, Zorc!" Her voice, which sounded normal just a second ago, was now demonic and echoed through the air in a powerful wave.

A snarl of rage came from the portal as a large, black claw reached through. After a few minutes, Zorc towered over them with Anzu giving him her best lazy smile. "Its nice to see you again. Have any explanations about Vega?"

"I do not answer to you."

She snorted and looked at him like he was a dumb-ass. "Gods and Goddess, evil and good, always answer to _me_. You are no different, Zorc."

"Who are you to say that to me?"

"Death." She said, her lips curled and a black flame uncurled in her eyes. Zorc's eyes narrowed but before he could make a move, Anzu flung out her hand. A flash of light blinded everyone for mere two, three seconds. "I would like you to consider this Zorc, your Queen, Vega, is counting on you."

Dark stepped beside her. "Master!"

"Don't worry." She said. "But before I give you a choice, I'll change your form so I don't have to break my neck to look at you." He scythe glowed once again and this time, she raised it towards Zorc, making him scream.

Dark stepped back and feel flat on his butt as he watched his father shrink before his very eyes. After a few, stomach churning twenty minutes, a man was in the place where Zorc once stood. "What have you done to me, Death?"

"I gave you a human form, a human heart. Now that I've given you those, I give you the choice." A sphere appeared beside her with Vega within. "I would like to point out that I have freed her from the bad trait her family gave her, the insanity."

"What's your point?" the man, Zorc, snarled. He looked up and for the first time since he had been born, Dark could tell where his looks came from. Zorc's human form had messy long black hair that ended at his shoulders. Odd marks were on his cheeks and the crest of darkness was upon his forehead. The only things that made him inhuman were his glowing red eyes and the power the rolled off him.

"I give you a choice, you may have her back, free of insanity, but I get your beast form and the power that comes with it, or you can take your beast form back, but you must find a new Queen of Darkness."

"I choose my beast-" but he stopped when his eyes rested on Vega, who was now waking up.

"Zorc . . ." she whispered softly. His eyes widened and he clutched his chest, as though someone had shoved a knife in his heart.

"You," he snarled. "You gave me a mortal heart! You tricked me!"

Anzu threw back her head and laughed. The power that rolled off her was now coming in huge powerful waves. "When dealing with Death and playing her games, there will always be a secret that is obvious that it truly isn't a secret. I told you when I first transformed you, that I gave you a human heart. Now, your choice, I don't have all day." She said in a sing-song voice.

He clenched his teeth together before turning to Vega one last time. "I choose . . ."

"Yes . . . ?" Anzu prompted.

"Vega."

A shocked silence filled the air. Atem and the others had been so sure that he would choose his beast form. "Give her back!" he snapped.

Anzu snapped her fingers, releasing the Queen. "Here you go." She said. "And Zorc, this time, keep her in check. I refuse to go through what she put everyone through, is that understood?"

"Yes," he said, holding Vega closely to him. He turned to Dark and even more shockingly, he softend, his aura, everything! "I'm sorry, Dark."

The boy nodded. "I won't hold it against you, Father, but please do as Master said, and try and control Mother if she shows the signs."

Zorc was silent for a moment before he said, "You can always return, or visit, if you wish." Atem tipped his head to the side as he heard the longing in the Lord of Darkness's voice.

Dark smiled. "Maybe, but I won't be getting my break for a while. I have a lot to train for."

Zorc nodded and left, but not before bowing to Anzu. She closed the portal and turned to her friends. "Still shocked?"

"Hell yeah! I didn't know Death could do that!" Joey said. Everyone nodded in agreement. Anzu giggled softly as she lifted her hand, opening two portals. One was of different colors, another was golden.

"The golden portal is to your Afterlife, the colored portal is to the living." She said. Goodbyes went around and some hugs too. Yugi had surprised her first before everyone else.

He wrapped his arms around her and whispered, "I'll miss you." His voice chocked with tears. She smiled and hugged him back.

"Just remember that I've everywhere and nowhere, and say goodbye to your daughters for me, I miss their excided voices from time to time." Yugi smiled and nodded and gave her one last good squeeze before Jason walked up to her.

"Meetings?" he said.

"I'll message you when I find the time." She said, shaking his hand. He nodded and walked off.

"Come on you spirits, time to go home!" they gathered around as the gang said one final goodbye before passing through the portal.

Anzu spun around and walked off, refusing to see Atem leave, _again_. Dark stared after her, a pained look in his eyes. He turned to Atem to find the same pain that he'd seen in Master Anzu's.

He walked over and placed a hand on Atem's shoulder. "It was an honor to meet you. Anzu told me many things about you for the past five years."

Atem smiled. "Has she now?"

Dark nodded. "She loves you, you know that, right?"

"I know."

"Stay." Dark begged.

"Can I?" Atem asked.

Dark turned to the Pharaoh's father to see him nodding. The portal closed once he passed through. "You can, Atem."

"But she's Death and I'm-"

"There is a way you can be by her side, to be like her."

"How?"

Dark smiled and whispered in the young Pharaoh's ear. When he was done explaining, Atem still looked uncertain. "I don't know . . ."

"Choose, Atem."

"I choose . . ."

* * *

Anzu was sitting on her throne again, tears hit the floor like pearls, catching light and reflecting it. Once again, she had lost the love of her life. This time she tried to get the heart from Atem's golden platter but in the end, she had still given it up.

"Master."

"Dark?"

"Someone is staying."

"Who?" she asked, looking up. Dark looked to the side and a familiar man stepped from the shadows.

It was Atem.

* * *

Hee hee, I wonder, oh I wonder, what will happen next?

Maybe some hot heavy kisses. :3

We shall see.

So, as you can see, I gave Zorc a mortal heart, therefor, making him _love_. No has done this and if someone plans to do this to big bad ol' Zorc again, I'd love to find out how you would plan it out. So, anyways, I got a few more twists and turns to go before this ends.

See ya next time!


	12. Death's Lover

The second last chapter. Enjoy! (Its part of the specail today.) So I'm finishing it! I want reviews, though. I don't get plenty of reviews, then you don't the last chapter. So visiting people, you can leave a review. (If you'd like.)

Enjoy!

Disclaimer! I own nothing!

* * *

Becoming Death

Chapter 12

Anzu stared at Atem in completely and total shock. Why? Why was he here when he could be at peace, when he could be with his family? "Why?" she croaked out. Atem smiled and shook his head.

"I couldn't do it, not again."

"What?" she asked, pretending not to know what he was talking about.

"You can't fool me, I'm not about to take your heart with me again." He whispered and walked up to her. The shadows seemed to disappeared, no longer protecting her. Getting up so that she wasn't sitting down by the time he was in front of her.

"Dark told me . . . that there was a way I could stay with you." He said, cupping her face gently. It took a minute for what he said to sink in.

"No!" she gasped, horrified. "Atem, that is not the way!" She roughly pushed him away. "Do you know what you speak of?"

"Yes, Dark explained it very well to me, if you give me the Kiss of Death, I stay with you."

"Do you know what the Kiss of Death means?" she shrieked. She spun on her heel towards Dark. "You, young man, are going to receive hard training and I'll tell you to stop when I feel like telling you!"

He simple shrugged. "I'll do anything to make you happy." Anzu's breath hitched in her throat as she looked between the two men. "He is only an apprentice, he doesn't know what the Kiss truly means!"

"Hey!" he yelled. "Just because I'm an apprentice doesn't mean anything!"

"Yes, it does, it means I can kick your ass. Now go back and open the portal for Atem!"

"He won't because I refuse to leave." Atem said, crossing his arms. Damn, she felt like a caught animal. "I won't leave you again, Anzu." She sucked in a breath and finally found the words that would hopefully drive him away.

"Look at me, these tattoos, these wings." She snapped.

He looked over them and shrugged. "What about them?"

"Ugly, aren't they?"

The air froze. "Do you honestly want these for yourself?"

"Anzu . . ." Atem whispered. "Are you saying that you're hideous?"

"Of course I am!" she yelled. "My eyes, which used to be blue, are now the color of fresh blood. The tattoos speak of death and within them are people suffering. The wings look caught between a demon and an angel's wings. I wield a scythe, take souls, and practically bask in the glory of people's sufferings! What is beautiful about that?" she cried. Black tears poured down her cheeks as she released the pain from her heart, the pain of never being able to love the man in front of her.

"Anzu," he said softly. "It is true, that all you now deal with is darkness and pain, and I believe that a soul as pure as you should never have been chosen to do this, but you aren't ugly!" he told her.

Anzu smiled. "The funny thing is, I _could_ have denied it, I could have destroyed myself, but at the time, I didn't have Dark, and the power would have gone to you."

"What?"

"Yes, the original Death had plans to make you Death, but when I realized that, I couldn't, I couldn't let you take this burden. That was the one thing that kept me sane until Dark came. If I stayed alive, then you would still be happy." She sobbed and fell to her knees.

Atem and Dark were staring at her in shock. The apprentice came up to the Pharaoh and whispered to him. "Kiss her, be forceful if you must, but please, stay with her." He begged before he left the two lovers.

Atem stared after the retreating back of Dark before turning to Anzu. "Anzu . . ."

"Go away!" she sobbed. "Just leave me be!"

"No." he growled and walked up to her. He yanked her to a standing position and pulled to a dark corner. He shoved her roughly into the wall and trapped her with his arms. "Never, say that again, is that clear?" he snarled. Anzu looked at him for a moment before nodding.

He cupped her face and was about to kiss her when she gave one last attempt. "No! Atem, I'm hid-"

"Anzu! Look at me, you are _not_ ugly. Its true, the tattoos and wings are frightening, but they are also beautiful."

"That's morbid-" he pressed a finger to her lips, silencing her.

"Yes, its morbid, but to me, they are beautiful. No one else has your tattoos, no one probably can because they cannot be done by mortal hand, and your wings are one-of-a-kind. No one else has these things, only you. Anzu, no matter how ugly and hideous you think you are, I will _always_ love _you_." And with that, Atem planted his lips firmly on hers.

The shadows gently swirled around them, creating a black wall so that no one would disturb them. Anzu felt the ground disappear from under her as she felt herself falling, it was like the feeling where one lays on the bed and stares up at the ceiling long enough, and then you feel as though you're free-falling, making you jolt out of the trance. Emotions filled her, emotions that Death shouldn't be capable of feeling.

The next emotion to hit her was fear as she felt some of the darkness that marked her as Death leave her to go to Atem. It surrounded and filled him, making her cry again. She didn't want this, she had always wanted him to be her light, her light within this cursed darkness she was forced into. But here he was, kissing her, accepting the darkness as part of her when all his life he had fought it.

The kiss ended when Atem gasped and collapsed on the ground. Anzu was about to reach for him when her shadows pulled her away. The familiar ink swirled around him and connected to his skin. Holding back a sob, she looked away when she heard the horrible sound of ripping skin.

For what felt like forever, the only sound to be heard was soft gasps. The shadows released her and joined with Atem's new shadows, as if playing together. She took a step towards him, looking over his body.

Tattoos much like hers had spread out over his body, only his looked more sinister. His wings were like hers, stuck in between an angel and a demon's wings, but unlike hers, his wings were completely black, reminding her or the endless midnight sky.

He looked up at her then, pinning her with his glowing crimson eyes. The power that she could see in them was massive. He was no doubt, more powerful then she could ever be, but that didn't mean she couldn't put up a fight with him.

Atem stood up and walked toward her, his eyes concentrated on her even more, making her throat dry. Taking a few steps back to try and get away, somehow, but she cursed herself. Once again, she was roughly pushed against the wall. Like a wolf, he reacted the way when its prey runs, but she knew, Anzu knew that she was just not prey to this man.

His latched onto her neck and nipped at it, sending shivers down her spine as she gripped his newly formed black robes that now covered his body. Had he been naked, who knew what . . . no, she wasn't innocent, and she knew what would have happened.

The butterfly kisses on her neck had traveled to her jaw, and once more to her lips. Whatever his kisses had been before, were nothing compared to this kiss and the raw possession in it. This kiss was coming close to shattering her mind, her sanity, _everything_.

His wings came around them, surrounding them in a cocoon of darkness. She could see his eyes, as if there was a light behind them, and no doubt her eyes were doing the same thing. Atem was now the creature that the monster under the bed feared.

She was brought out of her thoughts abruptly when she felt his hands slid down her hips, and then lower. "No! Atem-" Another kiss cut off her plea to stop. When he deepened the kiss to the point where she couldn't breathe, she gave up and left her fate in his hands.

* * *

I believe, at this point, everyone can guess what happens next. This is rated T, not M. Sorry, no good stuff, but that's for your imagination, right?

Right.

This is why I didn't change the title of the story. Anzu had already become death so, why didn't it change?

_**A:**_ Because Atem hadn't transformed yet! Hee hee!

See ya soon! :DDDDD


	13. Seven years later

Its the end! (With no lemon. More on that later, BTW.) I hate ending stories, I always feel so sad. :( But, hey, I got plenty more stories. So, I hope you like this chapter!

Disclaimer! I own Nothing!

* * *

Becoming Death

Epilogue

_seven years later . . ._

Atem was sitting on the throne of Death with a huge headache. How Anzu had done this for the past five years made him wonder. A spirit, a snobby spirit, he might add, was standing in front of him commanding that he go somewhere beautiful.

Really? Didn't this man know that you could create your own heaven? Hell, he could be in a castle with loads of servants if he just had the brains to think. Sadly, it looked like he needed some help.

"Are you listening to me?" the man snapped. Atem's crimson eyes narrowed into dangerous slits as he regarded the man.

"I don't want to, but I seem to forget that I am Death." He growled, making the man pale. "If you use that damn brain of yours you can make your own heaven, now get out of my sight and don't bother me again!" he snarled.

The fat man turned on his heel and ran off. Sighing, Atem leaned back rubbing his eyes. How come death was so complicated? And why did the dumb-asses die first?

Faint laughter could be heard in the corner on the right side near the entrance to the throne room. Atem happened to know that laughter. "Shut up, Dark."

The boy stepped out, a broad smile on his face. His personality had bloomed over the past seven years. His bond with his parents had grown stronger and they were almost acting like a regular family. Though, Zorc did, from time to time, have small fits of rage but his Queen, Vega, had calmed him down, quite a bit, actually.

They had two children since then, three counting Dark. Dark's little brother, Blade, and little sister, Belinda. Their names were interesting too, well the meaning, anyway. Blade, of course, meant knife, and Belinda meant beautiful snake. The names suited them, too. Blade had an odd affinity for the sword and other weapons that had an edge, and Belinda had an affinity, an unhealthy one, for snakes.

Suddenly, two shadows slammed into Dark, sending him face down on the hard ground. '_Speak of the devil'_ Atem thought as he grinned. Blade and Belinda loved coming to visit the realm of Death. From what he had been told, they thought it was fun.

"Hello, Blade, Belinda." He said. "What brings you two here?"

Belinda looked up at him with a small smile. "To bother him." The girl's midnight black hair fell in lush waves around her shoulders and down her back, her bright red eyes glowed brightly in the dim light. Her skin was an unhealthy pale color, but on her, it looked healthy.

Her brother, Blade, was much like her since they were twins. He had the crest of darkness on his forehead and signs similar to Dark and Zorc's on his cheeks. His black hair ended at his shoulders with bangs framing his blood-red eyes. "You don't mind, do you?" he asked.

Atem smiled. "Go ahead; he's not busy at the moment. In fact, he's free for the day."

_"Jack-ass!"_ Dark growled at him through the mind link that they now shared.

_"You were the one who laughed at me."_ Atem smirked as he watched the two children take Dark's scythe and run off, giggling and laughing with him in hot pursuit.

"That was mean, Atem." A soft voice chided him. Turning, he saw his lover, his wife.

"He was asking for it, Anzu."

That day, seven years ago when he first turned to Death, instead of doing what usually would have happened, they made an agreement on joint-ruling. Anzu took care of these jobs and Atem took care of the rest.

Had then tried to kill each other, Atem was sure that countless innocent lives and large cities would be lost completely.

Standing up from the throne, he wrapped his arms around her and rested his forehead on hers. "How did you do it, Anzu? Listening to those spirits day in and day out? I can barely do it without loosing my temper."

She laughed and kissed him gently. "That took me three years, but I still have problems."

"I guess that means we have to wait for a thousand years?"

"Probably." She giggled. Dark wasn't the only one whose personality bloomed. Anzu's had as well. She smiled more often; the gloomy air was replaced with a happy and joyous air.

She traced one of the tattoos on his face. Allowing her to continue the tingling tracing, he closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. "Where would I be without you?" he whispered.

"With you family." She said.

He snorted and spun her around playfully. "Speaking of the Afterlives, Jason. Don't we have a meeting with him today?"

She growled and yanked on his robes. "I say we ignore the meeting and do it tomorrow." Her lips dangerously close to his.

He smiled, as much as he liked the sound of that; Jason was still a god, no matter how ungodly he acted some of the time. "No, we go, now." He said, pushing her to the meeting room. She pouted and followed him.

"This is stupid." She muttered.

"It has to be done." He said simply.

"Well," she huffed. "I don't-" but she was interrupted when his lips captured hers. For a dizzying moment, Anzu lost all sense of time. When she came out of it, she had a dazed look in her eyes.

"If you get this meeting done, we can get to bed sooner."

She yanked on his hand and practically ran to the meeting room. Smiling, Atem wrapped his arm around her small waist and whispered into her ear. "I love you."

* * *

Done! Alright, I have a few reviews to thank for staying with me and the story.

_Sara Darkotter, my wonderful Beta._

_dany14-black8_

_DarkAngel 355_

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_Lexicat_

_Upsilon Four_

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_Karen_

_cookieslike_

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_Master of Doom and Stuff D_

_Tsukiko Kaiba_

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_and . . ._

_RiverTear980_

Thank you for the reviews and for everyone else who happens upon this story. :)

Now, I believe I said something about the lemon on top . . . Yes! I did.

So, everyone who wants a lemon, raise your hands. Hmm . . . that's quite a few people . . . ok. So, let's make a deal. Everyone who wants a lemon, leave a long review. (It doesn't have to be long, but leave a review.) So, the number of reviews I get ultimately decideds it. So if I get five, you guys aren't getting anything. Ten, I'll think about it, (but in the end I'll write one, but it'll be short and make you cry.) now, if I get over 15, (which shouldn't be hard, btw because the reviewers listed are 22 total.) then I'll make you a good one that will make you cry out of joy. (and depending on the power of your imagination and stuff, might give you a few odd dreams here and there. :)

So, is it a deal?

I hope so, cause no one is getting a lemon unless I see reviews. (it'll be a one shot, btw, just to let ya'll know.)

Before I go, I would like to put this idea up and let everyone decide what you think, should I do this story? (Please do not take my idea)

_A love that was never meant to be, a love that had to be bound in black fire and blood. Atem and Anzu, two forlorn hearts that loved each other made a pact with the darkness, sealing their souls together so that they could never be torn apart, but in return, they had to become Lord and Mistress of Darkness._  
_Their pact is now in danger. A group of friends is determined to stop the chaos that's broken the peace that they lived in. But as they get closer to shattering the pact, Atem and Anzu grow more desperate to try and stop them._

Tell me what you think please!

Until the next update and story . . .

Germantownmaiden~


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